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What exactly does an airline dispatcher do?

Captain Meryl Getline answers your questions about what it's like to fly the friendly skies. Is there something you want to know about air travel? Send her an e-mail, and she may publish it in an upcoming column. By e-mailing her (include your name and town), you agree to having your question shared.

The busy dispatch office of an unindentified airline buzzes day and night.

Question: I enjoy reading your column every week. My background includes work in both domestic and international airline operations. Could you offer an overview and/or description of a flight dispatcher from a pilot's point of view? Passengers are rarely aware that at every given moment, every commercial flight is tracked by an FAA licensed dispatcher on the ground. — John Matthews, ExpressJet Dispatch, Houston

Answer: From my own perspective a dispatcher is an overseer of all that goes on in a flight from the planning stage to the completion of the flight — a flight planner who takes into consideration such things as the maintenance status of the aircraft.

For instance, with certain non-mandatory systems disabled, my cruising altitude may be lower than normal today. Therefore I'll burn extra fuel. I may be flying in poor weather instead of above it, or may be routed out of my way to avoid conditions I could have otherwise topped.

Or maybe my radar is not functioning (a rare occurrence these days). There's no picking my way through a line of storms today.

Winds aloft — the best tailwind or the least headwind — are considered along with air-traffic control's preference in routing, based to traffic. Turbulence forecasts may dictate a non-standard route.

Anything that could affect my flight is considered by the flight's dispatcher. Here is how it happens:

• The dispatcher works up a flight plan.

• The captain either signs it or modifies it — signing it perhaps after a discussion with the dispatcher.

• Signed, the flight plan is considered a contract between the captain and the dispatcher for the safe operation of that flight.

Once enroute, dispatch is our "one-stop shopping" source if things go wrong or if we just want information beyond what is available through data-link requests, which are similar to e-mail.

The dispatcher can arrange conference calls via radio or by satellite datalink if we're over the ocean, patching us through to a doctor, maintenance facility or security specialist.

When we're enroute, dispatchers are capable of visually monitoring the flights for which they are responsible. They do this via a feed from air-traffic control.

The part of the world they want to watch can be isolated and monitored on a desktop computer. This allows the dispatcher to keep an eye on the plane along with flights from other carriers; he or she can also monitor things such as flow rates into airports and alternate routes when weather becomes a problem.

As one dispatcher puts it: "It's almost like an over-the-shoulder look at ATC [air traffic control] without having to call them." This comes in handy when, for instance, an EFC (Expect Further Clearance) time has been issued for a holding pattern. When we hold, an estimate of when we can expect to exit holding and head for the airport is always part of the process.

With this flight monitoring capability, dispatchers pretty much can tell whether the initial estimate will stand or whether it will change for better or for worse.

In addition, ATC issues a graph so dispatchers know hour by hour whether an airport will exceed its capacity. A "route trace" may be put on a flight to see whether ATC is issuing delay vectors or whether the flight has entered a holding pattern.

When pilots enter a holding pattern they let their dispatcher know. However, just by the pattern on their monitor, the dispatcher may know a plane is in holding even before the pilot relays the information. This lets dispatchers anticipate the pilots' requests for information, such as the best alternate airport or weather conditions.

If enroute we have a medical emergency, weather diversion, mechanical problem or other issue, the captain will decide, with help available from dispatch and the airline's on-call doctor, where to divert the flight.

Although we carry manuals with us which contain lists of airports suitable specifically for medical or other types of diversions, we communicate with dispatch and get their recommendations. I have never yet had to divert for a medical emergency (knock on wood). If that happens, I'm glad to know someone on the ground probably already knows of the best diversion station for the best and fastest care for our passenger.

Dispatch has even been known to supply sports scores on occasion (if and when time permits, of course) as well as news if deemed important enough, like the election of a U.S. president or something of general interest.

Without the support of flight dispatchers, the pilots would never have time to do all the research required for every flight.

My guess is the average passenger probably has no idea that dispatchers even exist, but to pilots they are absolutely indispensable members of the team, along with mechanics, customer service reps, load planners, ramp workers and many other groups that are an airline's "unsung heroes." They're our "big brother" or "big sister" watching over us from the flight's planning stages until we're parked safely at the destination.

My thanks to the dispatchers at American, ExpressJet and (former) Trans World Airlines who gave me their support for what I hope is an accurate reflection of their vital function to the airlines. And, of course, my hat is off — both literally and figuratively — to dispatchers at my own airline who are always with us, day and night, 365 days a year as we transport passengers and cargo safely all over the world.

Meryl Getline is a captain for United Airlines and author of The World at My Feet. She also publishes her own Web site, fromthecockpit.com. All opinions expressed in this column are exclusively those of Capt. Meryl Getline. United Airlines neither contributes to nor endorses this column. If you have a question, send it to her at travel@usatoday.com, acknowledging she may use it in a future column.